Re: Rum Forum

Originally Posted by squire

That's a good link tanstaalt, the lady who runs that site is very knowledgeable and posts often on the Ministry of Rum website.

According to the Master Blender for El Dorado some of the rums used in their blends are aged in Sherry casks, particularly Pedro Ximenez, and the Sherry notes are most evident in the 12 year expression. Let me toss some Wray & Nephew in my coffee and I might remember more.

Originally Posted by tanstaafl2

Could be. The website says it is bourbon casks. But they don't always give all the facts I suppose. A bit like bourbon distillers that way...

Digging back into this subject from a year ago as a result of the ineresting ongoing posts from David Driscoll on their trip to DDL in Guyana.

Much to my surprise, there is absolutely no sherry maturation happening at DDL. All of their rum is aged in refill Bourbon casks that have been stripped and re-coopered to expose more of the fresh oak underneath the char. The sweetness is simply due to rapid maturation and evaporation under the extremely humid conditions.

So who knows what the real truth is!

For rum fans I would think you might find this an interesting series to follow if you aren't already doing so.

That yella whiskey runnin' down my throat like honey dew vine water and I took another slash…

Re: Rum Forum

We think of the Caribbean as a place of beautiful beaches, palms swaying in the gentle ocean breeze, cold drinks and hot women.

We have to change our perspective though when it comes to aging rum because . . . there be mountains in those regions. We know from aging whisky the floor location is important. In the Caribbean the actual location of the warehouse is important because a barrel of rum aged at sea level can evaporate completely empty in ten years whereas a barrel aged up in the mountains 5000-6000 feet above sea level can gently age 10-12 years or more.

As for the barrels we know that Sherry makers use American as well as European oak and we know ex-Bourbon barrels can be 'treated' with sherry before being filled with rum. So if the head distiller or warehouse manager says they are using 'sherry barrels' to age their rum I'll take their word for it.

Re: Rum Forum

Originally Posted by squire

We think of the Caribbean as a place of beautiful beaches, palms swaying in the gentle ocean breeze, cold drinks and hot women.

We have to change our perspective though when it comes to aging rum because . . . there be mountains in those regions. We know from aging whisky the floor location is important. In the Caribbean the actual location of the warehouse is important because a barrel of rum aged at sea level can evaporate completely empty in ten years whereas a barrel aged up in the mountains 5000-6000 feet above sea level can gently age 10-12 years or more.

As for the barrels we know that Sherry makers use American as well as European oak and we know ex-Bourbon barrels can be 'treated' with sherry before being filled with rum. So if the head distiller or warehouse manager says they are using 'sherry barrels' to age their rum I'll take their word for it.

And yet a person who appears to at least have more than a passing knowledge of spirits, particularly finishing spirits from his time spent selecting whisky in Scotland and elsewhere, and presumably knows enough to be very specific about whether a cask is an American made sherry cask or a European sherry cask and include things like barrels treated with sherry is on site and speaking directly with the master distiller, Shaun Caleb, when he notes, rather emphatically, that they don't use sherry cask isn't sufficient to convince you that perhaps they don't? Curious indeed.

So just to be cantankerous I will conclude that it seems rather unlikely that they use sherry casks of any sort to finish their rum!

Not that it matters a whit. I am going to drink it either way!

That yella whiskey runnin' down my throat like honey dew vine water and I took another slash…

Re: Rum Forum

Bruce I was posting about the effects of elevation and aging practices in the region as reported by those in charge both in written and video interviews. I have no reason to doubt or discount David D's visit to DDL but that speaks only to practices at that distillery and not to the region as a whole. I do wonder how they get that level of sweetness in El Dorado 12 with oak alone, come to think of it I find all the El Dorados under the age of 15 to be fairly sweet.

Looking at my older post quoted above I believe I meant Ron Zacapa using PX barrels instead of El Dorado. Must have been the rum posting.

Re: Rum Forum

Originally Posted by squire

Bruce I was posting about the effects of elevation and aging practices in the region as reported by those in charge both in written and video interviews. I have no reason to doubt or discount David D's visit to DDL but that speaks only to practices at that distillery and not to the region as a whole. I do wonder how they get that level of sweetness in El Dorado 12 with oak alone, come to think of it I find all the El Dorados under the age of 15 to be fairly sweet.

Looking at my older post quoted above I believe I meant Ron Zacapa using PX barrels instead of El Dorado. Must have been the rum posting.

OK. In Guyana it is worth noting that DDL/El Dorado is pretty much the only game in town (or country in this case!). I don't know the geography there well but I suspect it is mostly lowland coastal countryside until you get well into the interior which is fairly inaccesable anyway except by river. Of course even a few hundred meters of elevation may help in the aging process. Still, its gotta be tough to age rum for 10 or 20 years there!

With rum who knows what they are adding to make it taste the way it does. Outside of the French Islands there really isn't much in the way of rules or oversight. I would like to think those ancient stills do some magic that other rum producers can't duplicate and that ED isn't overly doctored but it probably is to some degree.

Zacapa may well be using PX barrels to make it taste sweeter. That and lots of extra sugar! Which is not to say I don't mind having a glass or two now and again...

That yella whiskey runnin' down my throat like honey dew vine water and I took another slash…

Re: Rum Forum

Yes, they have lotsa sugary liquid down there, enough to distill it in fact, but we expect rum to taste sweet don't we. What I dislike is the lack of regulation to the point that a 'solera system' or modified version thereof (tossing a cup full of old rum in a barrel of young) allows the use of the older age statement on the label.

We have a local store owner who put up a large sign announcing 25 year old Zacapa when he knows it's a mix but he's a scoundrel anyway.

Re: Rum Forum

So I just bought a bottle of the 23 Ron Zacapa "solera" (at the Binny's get together,had a pour of it at the bar 'cause I was early, liked it enough to buy me one) never knew what that meant until now,and looking into the definition.That process seems labor intensive and means keeping good records. Does it mean that the last barrel would have been aging 23yrs.How many barrels are usually used in the process? Seemed a bit confusing on the explantion,but I didn't study it to much,all I know is it tastes damn good! Wonder if there's bourbon out there done in the same way?

Everyday my spirit seems to find its way to the bottom of a glass...... Don